Time Is Not A Straight Line
by Alakuriel
Summary: Jack's little sister, Abby, is being held hostage by the Time Agency. Will she be able to escape with the help of her big brother and his traveling companions, the Doctor and Rose?
1. Chapter 01: Abigail Patience Holmes

A/N: This fic assumes that the history and events of Joss Whedon's _Firefly_ are factual in the _Doctor Who_ universe. You shouldn't need to be familiar with _Firefly_ in order to read it, though.

By the 51st Century, the Church has become a faith-based military organization responsible for interstellar security and the protection of human populations, among other things.

I have not watched past season one of _Torchwood_, and to be frank, I don't intend to – the show quite failed to hold my interest. As such, anything about Jack or the Time Agency revealed in a later season may very well contradict this entire fic. Please don't try to correct me about any such contradictions. I like my version, and I hope you will too.

"Shiny" was a 26th Century slang word, essentially meaning "awesome."

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its components. I do own Abby, though.

xxx

**Time Is Not A Straight Line, Chapter 01: Abigail Patience Holmes, Student Number 01472**

"In the year 2501, many of the core planets – including Londinium and Sihnon – formed the Alliance, a powerful authoritarian government and law-enforcement organization that soon sought to bring all colonized worlds under its control. In an attempt to maintain their freedom from the Alliance, many of the outlying planets joined together to form the Independent Faction (or Independents), and by 2503 the Unification War, also known as the first 34 Taurian Civil War, had broken out between the two groups. On page 547 of your textbooks, you will see a list of those planets involved, and their allegiances," Professor Langley lectured, as she casually paced back and forth at the front of the room, the click-clacking of her high heels lending a strange sense of rhythm to her words.

_Maybe we should take a leaf out of the Independents' book and try our own rebellion_, Abby thought to herself sourly as she jotted down the page number in her notes, to be looked up later. She was a good student, but there were days when she found it hard to care. What was the point? None of the universities she had once dreamed of attending would ever see her marks now.

"Technologically, the war was fought with every weapon available. Though they didn't have access to the same sort of technology as the Alliance, the Independents did have their own warships and gunships, as well as heavy artillery and small arms. The Alliance, on the other hand, is known to have had additional access to bioweapons, mortars, tanks (often referred to as 'rollers'), and seekers."

_And of course, you don't bother to mention the fact that seekers had already been banned from use in civilised warfare (now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one), on account of their being inhumane and hitting non-combatants about as often as they hit actual enemy soldiers_. It didn't help when you already knew more about the subject than your teacher likely did, either. Abby wondered if she should alert Professor Langley to the fact that her slip was showing... Nah.

"Though the war was played out on many worlds, its most infamous battle took place on Hera in 2511. The Battle of Serenity Valley was nothing short of a bloodbath, in which both sides sustained heavy casualties, before the Independents, outmanned and outgunned, were forced to surrender. The Unification War ended shortly thereafter, with the Alliance emerging as the victor and assuming control of the entire system."

No mention of Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds, either. _She'll probably let the heroes go unnamed when she tells us about Miranda and the fall of the Alliance, too_, Abby thought, blue eyes flashing with irritation as even her expression turned a little sour this time. How could you give a lesson on the history of the Union of Allied Planets without mentioning Sergeant/Captain Reynolds and his crew? Especially River – River was just cool.

"For your homework tonight, I want everyone to compile a five-page report about the underground resistance movement which remained after the end of the war. Class dismissed."

Abby watched as her classmates eagerly filed out of the room, before finally gathering her notes and following them out with a sigh – out to where her 'escort' was waiting to take her back to her room.

Nobody attended 'the Academy' by choice; the entire school was no more than a front to keep the Church from getting involved. In truth, it was home to the Time Agency's hostages – the loved ones of Time Agents in danger of potentially turning rogue and creating trouble for the Agency, kept there to keep said Agents in line. Except for Abby (officially designated Abigail Patience Holmes, Student Number 01472); she was bait, plain and simple. Two years earlier, her big brother had successfully escaped from the Agency altogether, and they wanted him back (his escape being a blemish on their records, and all), so the security around her was tighter. She didn't get to go to the common room after classes like the others, to socialize and have fun – she just got to go back to her room, with its 24-hour guard and top of the line security systems. And she was bored to death of it.

She also missed her brother.

Pointedly (and routinely) ignoring her Agent escort as he joined her, Abby resignedly headed straight for her room, her mind once again desperately trying to come up with some sort of escape plan. She still rather liked the last one she'd come up with, but it required hallucinogenic lipstick – the acquiring of which would require a plan all on its own, and she was decidedly stuck on that one. It would have been awesome if she could make it work, though. Jack would have been so proud... unless, of course, he got into one of his weird, overprotective big brother modes.

God, she even missed him being all weird and overly protective of her. Like that time when she'd wanted to get those knee-high boots with the three-inch heels, and he'd flipped out about her being too young and blah, blah, blah – he'd reminded her of a mother hen, squawking and running about in a panic. It had been kind of funny, really (even if it had meant she didn't get the boots).

xxx

"During the process of DNA replication, errors occasionally occur in the polymerization of the second strand. These errors, called mutations, can have an impact on the phenotype of an organism, especially if they occur within the protein coding sequence of a gene..."

Good God, but Abby hated Professor Blake's classes – nobody could make a lecture as mind-numbingly boring as he could. She was also fairly certain that his voice had been specifically engineered to put people to sleep; more than half the class was gone already.

_I should have brought a book or something_, the young teenager couldn't help thinking. She was currently reading a really interesting one about the most notorious crimes of 20th Century Earth, and it (unlike this class) was fascinating. Just the night before she'd started a chapter on the assassination of some important leader in the United States – what had been his name again? She remembered his initials (they had used those a lot), but what had his name been... Oh! Kennedy! John F-something Kennedy! Apparently there had been some huge conspiracy theory surrounding his death, which Americans had obsessed over for well over a hundred years (seriously!).

Abby liked history – especially that of the early 20th Century, and the 26th. The last time she'd seen her brother, he had actually taken her to Hollywood in 1942 for her birthday (with special permission from the Time Agency, who had still favoured him at the time, of course); they had gone to the premiere of _Casablanca_, where she even got to meet Humphrey Bogart. She still considered it to have been her best day ever – and _Casablanca_ was still one of her favourite movies.

Jack had even promised to take her to meet River Tam and the rest of _Serenity_'s crew for her 16th birthday, given how much she idolized them – but of course, he'd already disappeared by then. Unrealistic though it may be, Abby secretly continued to hope that he would still take her there someday, after he came back to rescue her from the Academy. Preferably sometime before she died of boredom.

"...Mutagenic chemicals promote errors in DNA replication, often by interfering with the structure of..." Professor Blake was still droning on.

_You may want to pick up the pace a bit there, big brother – I don't know if I'm going to make it to the end of this lecture_, Abby thought to herself morosely, resting her white blonde head on her desk in resignation.

xxx

Abby had officially given up paying attention in math class – she'd even gone so far as to inform Professor Smeaton that she'd given it up for Lent last year (he had been somewhat less than amused). It simply wasn't her subject, and he was even more boring than Professor Blake. Besides, she already knew the basics – what possible use could she have for the drivel they were trying to force upon her now? None whatsoever, that's what. So she used that class for daydreaming and working on her escape plans.

Today, she was hoping to come up with a new escape plan; so far, though, it wasn't going too well. If she only wasn't so damn _tiny_, she might have been able to try for the nice and direct, physical assault approach – overpower the Agent guarding her, get his vortex manipulator, and disappear to another time and place entirely. Physically, she knew how to do it, too; Jack had always made sure she knew how to handle herself in a fight, and she was confident she could win against anyone her size. Unfortunately, standing at about 5'2 and weighing less than 110 pounds, there just weren't any Time Agents her size.

_I suppose I could always just knee one of the guys in the groin_, the painfully bored teenager postulated. Of course, if that didn't successfully take them out, she would then be up against an extremely pissed off Time Agent. Really, the Hallucinogenic Lipstick Plan was just vastly superior (and safer) in every respect – if she could only get her hands on some! If she ever did manage to get out of here, she was going to buy some first thing, just in case the need for it should arise again.

"Miss Holmes!" an apparently rather irate Professor Smeaton exclaimed (presumably not for the first time), interrupting her musings.

A very bored and monotonous "what," was all the reply he got; Abby didn't even bother turning it into an actual question.

"Either you will start paying attention, or you will remove yourself from my classroom," he declared.

"Shiny," Abby announced with a little more feeling, quickly grabbing her unopened textbook (she hadn't even bothered to bring anything for note-taking) and removing herself from the room before he could manage anything more than some indignant stuttering.

She instantly regretted it as, a second after she stepped out the door, her escort grabbed her by the arm and began to haul her back to her room.

Jack had been sighted again, then - meaning the security around her would be tighter than ever, the restrictions surrounding her stricter and more numerous (she wouldn't even be allowed to leave her room for meals or a bit of exercise), and all the while, no one would tell her anything about her big brother.

_Where is he?_ Abby wondered to herself desperately. When _is he?_ Did he know where she was, and that she needed him? Was he coming for her? _Please, Jack! Please get me out of here!_


	2. Chapter 02: Not One of the Famous

A/N: I like to think that Jack's real name really is Jack. The easiest alias to remember, after all, would be one close to your real name.

Roughly translated, "qing wa cao de liu mang" means "frog-humping son of a bitch," and was a (relatively) common insult during the 26th Century.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its components. I do own Abby and her mysterious dream boy, though.

xxx

**Time Is Not A Straight Line, Chapter 02: Not One of the Famous Beaches of the Krik'nak System**

After two days of confinement, the poor girl finally broke down and tried demanding that she be told where and when her brother had been sighted; she knew it wouldn't work, but she was desperate. Beside herself with frustration and worry, she ended up throwing the glass she kept on her bedside table at the wall with a heartfelt (and rather tearful, though she would never admit it) scream, where it shattered quite spectacularly; unfortunately, it didn't make her feel any better, and now she didn't have a glass for her water. That night, Abby cried herself to sleep.

She also had a dream – or at least, she thought it was a dream. It really didn't make sense for it to have been anything else, since anyone breaking into her room would have set off over a dozen alarms, and the security system made it impossible for anyone to teleport inside. And the dream, or whatever it was, had very definitely involved someone being in her room.

In the dream, something had woken her, and she'd just been blinking her sleepy eyes open when she caught sight of a young man standing in the middle of her room. He'd looked to be about her age (maybe a year or two older, but no more than that), and he had a head of the wildest dark hair she'd ever seen; she rather thought it looked like a hedgehog had curled up and fallen asleep atop his head, and that thought very nearly had her giggling. His pale skin (possibly even paler than hers!) seemed to shine in the moonlight, and his eyes were such a vivid, cool shade of blue that she could clearly make out the colour even in her dark-but-for-a-bit-of-moonlight room. He was also watching her with undisguised concern, and as their eyes met, Abby was suddenly (and rather randomly) reminded of an old early-21st Century song she was rather fond of: Evanescence's _Bring Me To Life_.

"Hold on, Abby – just keep holding on," the strange boy encouraged, his voice almost impossibly gentle. "He'll come for you just as soon as he can, but until then, you're going to have to be strong. I know you can make it." He smiled at her then, and it was so full of encouragement and confidence in her that she really did feel like she could make it.

She _would_ make it – Jack was coming for her.

Abby spent the next two weeks irritating her prison guards by playing Evanescence non-stop at top volume, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Sometimes, a girl just needed to feel in control of something; besides, irritating her guards was fun.

xxx

It finally happened a little over a month later, on a Tuesday. She had just gotten out of Professor Langley's class, and was being escorted back to her room, when the strangest sound suddenly filled the corridor – a sound that immediately made Abby think of the universe. The students that filled the busy corridor all came to a sudden stop as they looked about in confusion for the source of the strange sound, while Abby's escort suddenly had her arm in a vice-like (and more than a little painful) grip. It was clear that the Time Agent was ready to draw his blaster at a moment's notice; it was also clear that he had no idea what was going on. Abby drew a strange sense of satisfaction from that.

Then a strange-looking blue box appeared at the far end of the corridor. It was an old police box, from early 20th Century England, but Abby rather suspected that she was the only one who knew that. For a few minutes nobody moved; then the door opened, and her brother stepped out.

"I hate to break it to you, Doctor, but this doesn't look like one of the famous beaches of the Krik'nak Sys-"

"JACK!" Abby cried out with more than just a hint of desperation and panic, knowing that the Time Agents would be showing up at any second to either take him out or capture him. Automatically moving to go to him, she was rather forcibly reminded of the Time Agent who currently had her arm in a death-grip by his yanking her back to him, causing a small cry of pain to escape her lips.

Jack suddenly looked more than a little scary, at the sight of his baby sister being so mistreated; he moved as if to go after her abuser, but Abby couldn't let him risk it.

"Jack, run! GET OUT OF HERE!" she yelled.

Abby could do nothing but watch as the truth began to sink in for him, immediately followed by horror and guilt. He hadn't known – hadn't had a clue that the Agency had gone after her, or would ever go after her, in order to get to him. But then the Agents began to arrive, and the 'what's and 'why's ceased to matter.

"JACK!" Her scream was one of utter panic this time, as she saw them open fire. Desperately struggling to break free of her captor, so that she could help her brother, she was at least a little relieved to see him retreat back into the police box – even if he didn't take off again, like she'd told him to.

The sound of the Agents' blaster-fire caused Abby to wince in fear, but… it soon became evident that it wasn't having any affect on the blue box he was hiding in. That was encouraging; Abby actually felt her spirits begin to lift a little, until the feel of the muzzle of a blaster being held to her head reminded her of her own rather precarious predicament. What followed was essentially a wordier and more pretentious-sounding version of the clichéd, "surrender or she dies," which the young teenager would have loved to mock under different circumstances; as it was, she decided it might be best to keep quiet.

_Don't do it, Jack, don't do it!_ she thought to herself desperately, wishing with all her might that he would somehow hear it anyway.

He didn't. It only took seconds for the door of the blue box to ease open, and for Jack to cautiously step out with his hands on his head; the door snicked closed again behind him.

"Qing wa cao de liu mang!" Abby exclaimed in frustration, before she could even think (let alone want) to stop herself.

"Abby!" Jack immediately objected, utterly shocked to hear such profanity from his little sister – that was one thing he'd been very careful _not_ to teach her. Besides, he didn't curse in Chinese. The teenager just rolled her eyes, attempting to hide just how afraid she was for him as the Time Agents converged upon him, forcing Jack to kneel on the floor as they disarmed and handcuffed him.


End file.
